Starvasive pulls off plunge at Pakenham

It looked like a monster plunge had been orchestrated until Mornington-based trainer Tony Noonan admitted to missing out on the $21 on offer when markets opened at Pakenham for his mare Starvasive.

Nonetheless, punters found plenty of value for Noonan’s mare with a change of tactics by the trainer proving a masterstroke.

“The trainer and his wisdom thought we would ride her to get her to settle a bit in her two runs [prior],” he said.

“I’d have to take full blame for that. She just rejected that and fought the rider.

"So after that, we thought the best option was to just let her roll to keep her happy.”

When queried about the betting move, Noonan was delighted his owners got a piece of the action when markets opened yesterday despite missing out himself.

"I'm not much of a punter so I was probably in bed when she opened but I was very confident she would run first three which is what I told the owners yesterday."

Jumping well from barrier 4, Starvasive kicked up to hold her position before being challenged by Dothraki Princess who sat outside of her as the two paired off to lead the field up by several lengths.

As the approached the bend, rider Ethan Brown held the fence where the 5-year-old Star Witness mare balanced up well to give a strong kick at the top of the straight.

Holding a margin of 4 lengths by the 100m mark, Starvasive ($5) had a strong break of the rest of the field despite tiring late to score by a length from Hula Star ($3.40F) and Invincible Spirit ($101) a further two lengths back.